Player piano



A. G. GULBRANSEN ET AL PLAYER PIANO Filed on. 15, 1920 2 h ets-Sheet 1 *5) 9%, M Qiibmgs A G. GULBRANSEN ET AL PLAYER PIANO Filed Oct. 15, 1920 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Oct. 27, 1925.

assen PATENT OFFICE.

G. GULBKANSEN, OF RIVER FOREST, TON, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR'S TO GULBRA CORPORATION or ILLINOIS.

AND ARTHUR H. BOETTCHER, or EVANS- NSEN COMPANY, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, A

PLAYER PIANO.

Application filer. actober 15, 1920. Serial No. 417,075.

To all whom c'tmey; concern.

Be it known that we, Axnri- G. GULBRAN- sENa-nd ARTHUR H. Bonr'ronnn, both citizens of the United States, residing at-River Forest, in the county of Cook andState of Illinois, and Evanston, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, respectively, have invented a'certain new and useful Improve Inent in'P-layer Pianos, of which the following is a full, clear, concise, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification.

This invention relates to player pianos and is particularly concerned with means for enabling the operator to use the expression mechanism in a more intelligent and effective manner than has heretofore been possible.

This-invention is applicable wherever the base hammers are controlled for expression independently of the treble hammers, and contemplates indicating means associated with thetracker bar, which means informs the operator at all times while playing which notes to be played as represented by the note sheet openings, are under the bass control and which are under the treble control.

The value of the provision will be readily understood. While an operator knows, without indicating mechanism, that the notes toward the left of the note sheet and the tracker bar are under bass control and that those to the right are under treble control, around the center of the. tracker bar and note sheethe is at a loss to know which is which and he is accordingly unable to secure the expression eflectively and accurately where the middle notes are being played, as where a melody to be expressed passes momentarily from treble to bass and back again.

The present invention provides means whereby the operator may know, imme diately in advance of the playing of each note, whether that note will be bass or treble controlled for expression.

The invention is embodied in the structure illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure l is a front elevational view of a player piano with the front portions of the case removed to reveal the interior construction;

Figure 2 is a partial sectional view taken on the plane of the line 2-2 and looking in the direction indicated by the arrows;

Figure 3 is a front elevational view of the tracker bar, on a larger scale; and,

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on the plane of the line 4i-4.- of Figure 3, but on a still larger scale.

In these drawings, the case is indicated at l, the keyboard at 2, the pneumatic power plant at 3, the channel board at a, the striker pneumatics at 5, 5, the roller box at 6, the motor at (i the note sheet roll at 7 the note sheet at 8, the take-up roll at 9, the tracker bar at 10 and the connecting tubes between the respective tracker bar openings 11, 11, and the striker pneumatics 5, 5, at 12, 12.

The piano strings are shown at 13, 18, and the hammers at 14, 14.

Except for the association of indicating means with the tracker bar, as will be pointed out presently, there is nothing new in the general structure thus far described so far as this invention is concerned, and it is therefore unnecessary to go into any further detail relative thereto. The independent expression control of the bass and treble hammers respectively is in this instance the soft pedal control, and is secured by a so-called divided hammer rail, the left half or part being applied to the bass hammers and the right half or part being applied to the treble hammers. The bass half of the hammer rail is shown at 15 and the treble half at 15'. The two parts operate alike, each functioning when actuated to shift all the hammers associated therewith relative to the strings to vary their strokes, the less the stroke the more soft the playing of the note.

In an ordinary piano, or in a player piano when played by hand, these hammer rail halves are operated respectively by the socalled soft pedals, one the treble soft pedal and the other the bass soft pedal. In a player piano, however, these hammer rail halves are actuated by hand operated levers, and 16 on the key slip, the former when swung to the right actuating the bass half of the hammer rail and the latter, when as shown in normal position at 16,

swung to the left, actuating the treble half. Any suitable mechanical connection between the hand operated levers and the bass and treble hammer rail halves may be employed. As these connections are not only obvious, but common in the art, the present disclosure has not been encumbered with the details thereof.

There is a striker pneumatic 5 for each hammer 1A, the movable element of the pneumatic being mechanically connected with the abstract rod or wippen of the hammer. r r

All the hammers at the left of the series thereof come under the bass hammer rail half, and all the hammers at the right come under the treble hammer rail half, the'division usually occurring between the mid dle e and f.

Thus the striker pneumatics and the tracker bar openings, each of which represents a striker pneumatic, are correspondingly divided, the tracker bar openings to the left of the dot-and-dash line in Figure 3 being those for bass striker pneumatics, and those to the right of that line being for treble striker pneumatics.

The preferred form of our indicating means is shown in detail in Figures 3 and 4. Running lengthwise in the face of the tracker bar, directly above and parallel to the series of tracker openings, we provide a shallow groove or mortise 17, preferably widened at the center as indicated at 18. To the left of the dot-and-dash line (Figure the groove or mortise is filled or partly filled with enamel or paint 19 of one color,

and to the rightof that line it is filled with enamel or paint 19 of another color. These colors should be and are in definite contrast to each other, such as blue for the bass side and red for the treble side, and in contrast to the note sheet paper which is uniformly white, cream or buff.

The groove or mortise is preferably enlarged at the center to emphasize the indication at the most critical point. 7

The strips of color are placed above the tracker openings in this instance because the note sheet is fed downwardly,from the note sheet roll above to the take-up roll below,

being thus disposed so that the note sheet treble notes, seeing either blue or red through the openings, respect1vely,-asthe case may be, just before they are played. Tnexpressing-- the melody, for instance,

which is usually indicated on the note sheet, he may know with certainty when it'goes from treble to bass, or vice versa, and may actuate the proper expression lever 16 or16 It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other specific types of. indicatingmeans-could be provided without departing T fromthebroad spirit or scope of our inven- I tion. For instance, apointer representing.

the dot-and-dash line could be employed with good efiect, but'f0r'simplicity 'ofconstruction and special'elfectiveness we prefer the form illustrated and to-this the more appended claims are adspecific of the dressed.

We claim:

1'. A tracker bar for player pianos having a series of player openings therein and a groove in the face thereof parallel to said series of player openings, saidgroove containing material of one color adjacent the bass player openings and of another color adjacent the treble player openings;

2. A tracker bar for player pianos having a series of player openings therein and a groove in the face thereof parallel to said series of player openings, said groove containing material of one color adjacent the bass player openmgsand of another color adjacent the treble player openings, said groove being widened at the dividing'line' between the bass and treble openings.

In witness whereof, we hereunto subscribe our names, this 12th day of October, 1920.

AXEL G. GULBRANSEN. ARTHUR H. BOETTCHER. 

